Two recent visual art graduates on the quest to validate their degrees and peddle their 'skills'

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Feature Friday: Thinspace

Directional signs

Thinspace and maze! Two attractions for the price of one...

Catalogue

More motivational and directional signs

Phillip's drawing

King Nebuchadnezzar, 2007, Coloured Pencil on paper

Exit Signage

Jessie's drawings:

To Change Course of Battle, Rotate, 2008, Acrylic on Canvas

Bones, Chipper, 2008, Pastel and Sticker on Paper

Phillip and Jessie relaxing at the Opening (Bundaberg commercial anyone?)

This is a new section of our blog, called 'Feature Friday' (as coined by my friend Thomas from sculpture) where we will, as the title says, feature something interesting from our studios on the 'day of the Fri'.

I had been pondering this idea of setting up a space inside the studio in which students could put up work, and install as if it were a gallery, kind of like a rapid-fire gallery... and then we could open it to the public and see what would become of it. Well well my friends, Phillip and Jessie have already beaten me to it! Which is great because within the space of half and hour, they utilised the maze like corridor between their two studio spaces and created what is aptly called 'Thinspace'. I was lucky enough to attend the 'opening' of this where Julian even shouted the two to a couple of bottles of beer....Ginger beer of course!! And they had even xeroxed off a catalogue for the perusal of gallery attendees.

I guess what's interesting about this particular gallery is obviously the claustrophobic-ness of it, where you're forced to view work from within a few centimetres of your face. I often find that when i enter a gallery space, there is a discomforting vastness where you are confronted with the work, the space between you and the work, and yourself. And the bigger the gallery, the larger that space. So it is somewhat refreshing to come into this area, where there is none of that, and instead, you are immediately forced to become very accquainted with the work on the walls.

So what does this do to the work? Obviously, it makes you look!!! And i mean really look, no glancing involved here...I'm always interested in what kind of relationship can be made between spectator and art and Thinspace definately forces participation.

After talking to Elliot about the gallery, we were wondering what would happen if we were to put his work in the space. His work looks like this btw...

Obviously its rather large and less intimate than Jessie and Phillips drawings. How would one manipulate the space so that Elliot's work can still be what it is? As well as being careful not to smear oil paint on the patrons of the gallery....perhaps Elliot should put forth a proposal for a show at Thinspace and we can see...

I am thinking of proposals for my own show there as we speak!

Till then, the gallery is open from 11-3, Monday to Friday so if you are in Auckland, come along to the WM Block of AUT and press level 5 on the elevator. Perhaps we may see some of you around...

- Agnes

p.s. My computer has been sent to the computer hospital (which i'm told is right next to the computer morgue) and may or may not be making it back. Till then, blogging maybe rather sporadic as it will be based on when and where i can get my hands on the precious lifesource that is the internet!! so very sorry :(

p.p.s. I also see the irony in having a Feature Friday when the date says it is Thursday...how does one change the time standards on this thing?

Hello

Story goes that Agnes started a blog on the advice of the late great Julian Dashper then got lonely and wrangled her fellow studio procrastinator, Claudia, in to help her hold the fort on the New Zealand side of the Tasman while she brain-drained over to Australia for more study. Meanwhile, her partner-in-crime attempts to break free from the clutches of the institution (aka. find a job). Thus continues this blog, a document of the coming trials and tribulations experienced after the familiarity of AUT's WM block is gone.

About Me

One day Agnes and Elliot were sitting in front of the macs in studio with Julian Dashper, looking at various art sites and blogs and Julian Dashper said, "hey why don't you guys start up a painting blog?" and we said, "hmm dunno might be a bit of work..." and he said, "come on it'll be fun", and we said, "oh alright then" and he said, "so you'll have it up by the next time i come in?" (as Julian Dashper only comes in every two weeks on a friday) and then Agnes said, "ok", so here it is.